For the first time, Pacific Lutheran University’s Annual Powell-Heller
Conference for Holocaust Education will offer a program designed specifically
for high school students. The conference, now in its sixth year, will be held
tomorrow, Wednesday, March 13, through Friday, March 15. The high school
program will take place on Friday.
The
theme of this year’s conference is “Empowerment,” and the goal is to give
educators, students and members of the community a way to use the lessons of
the Holocaust to empower themselves and others. The high school curriculum,
designed by Annie Wright history teacher Bridgette McGoldrick and Charles
Wright history teacher Nick Coddington, addresses issues such as identifying
injustices and taking personal responsibility, and uses resources developed by
the Jewish Partisan Education Foundation.
The program includes breakout
sessions on defiance and empowerment, a talk with Holocaust survivor Suzie Sherman,
and a campus tour and discussion of the college process.
“Our
aim is to provide students with an opportunity to grapple with ideas
about this topic that both complement and
contradict their own personal worldviews,” said McGoldrick. “They will
hopefully leave with a better understanding of the Holocaust, not only as an
important historical event, but also as a part of the unfolding narrative of
world history in the 21st century context. Experiences like these,
outside the classroom, ultimately provide history students with a better sense
of how they can be active agents of change in their communities and the
world.”
The entire senior class at Annie Wright Upper School will attend the
conference, which is free for all high school students. Parts of the conference
will also be streamed live on the PLU website and Facebook page.
